ProWrestling.com 2018 Year-End Awards: Breakout Star of the Year

2018 Year-End Awards

Announcer of the YearBest on the MicBreakout Star of the YearGreatest Moment of the YearRookie of the YearTag Team of the Year

There have been some truly incredible breakout performances in 2018, some from rookies brand new to the business, others from rising stars and established talents who have exploded in popularity.

While Ronda Rousey’s debut year kicked all kinds of ass, and “Switchblade” Jay White came out of nowhere to single-handedly implode New Japan’s CHAOS faction, it was the Velveteen Dream who ultimately impressed the most.

After a debut program with Aleister Black in late-2017 that put The Dream on the map, he scored a big victory over Kassius Ohno at NXT Takeover: Philadelphia to kick off the new year.

While he wasn’t always victorious throughout 2018, it was stand-out performances like the six-man ladder match, his excellent character work playing off Ricochet, and a career-defining feud with NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa that solidified this win for the black-and-yellow brand’s most promising prospect.

Velveteen Dream (15)Jay White (7)Ronda Rousey (7)Elias (5)Flip Gordon (5)Sammy Guevara (3)MJF (2)Tessa Blanchard (1)Toni Storm (1)Jeff CobbJordynne GraceOney Lorcan & Danny Burch